FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION

Measure B was missing from the Super Tuesday ballot in newly annexed West Santa Ana Heights. Some voters say they were surprised to learn they would not get a chance to vote on the measure, but election officials said Newport Beach did not annex the 83-acre area in time for the measure to be included on the ballot there. “We should have a voice in that as well. Now what does that do to the election? Does that skew the election? I don’t know,” said West Santa Ana Heights resident Gary De Vine, who said he called the Orange County Registrar of Voters to complain.

Where: Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd. NEWPORT COAST PRE--ANNEXATION AGREEMENT Council members will consider authorizing the city manager to execute a pre-annexation agreement to implement the annexation terms for Newport Coast, as well as a cooperative agreement with the county. The city filed its application to annex Newport Coast, Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls communities in March. Staff anticipates a hearing before the Local Agency Formation Commission about the Newport Coast portion of the application in September.

NEWPORT COAST City staff members recommend that the City Council pass a resolution approving a property tax exchange agreement with the county for the proposed Newport Coast and Bay Knolls annexation agreement. The city filed its application to annex Newport Coast, Santa Ana Heights and Bay Knolls communities in March. Staff anticipates a hearing before the Local Agency Formation Commission about the Newport Coast portion of the application in September.

A proposal to annex Newport Coast cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when the Local Agency Formation Commission gave its initial stamp of approval. Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said the decision by the seven-member body leaves the proposal just steps away from becoming a reality. Kiff said the city must now measure public approval of the project and comply with several other specifications made by the commission. "We are happy to reach this point and look forward to the next couple of weeks working with Newport Coast residents answering their questions," Kiff said.

Noaki Schwartz NEWPORT BEACH -- The City Council on Monday voted unanimously to take another major step in what Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff calls "the city's largest annexation." The annexation would include Bay Knolls, Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights. Many residents from Santa Ana Heights were present at the meeting publicly announcing their support for the plan. The 5-0 vote will send an annexation application for review by the Local Agency Formation Commission, the state-created body that governs annexations and the incorporation of cities.

Greg Risling NEWPORT BEACH -- Pack a meal -- maybe two -- for tonight's City Council meeting that will include several controversial issues including annexing Santa Ana Heights and Newport Coast, and the proposed Marinapark Hotel. The meeting is expected to attract a big crowd and probably will run well into the night because of the hot-button topics. Council members will listen to public debate on whether three communities that surround Newport Beach -- Bay Knolls, Newport Coast and Santa Ana Heights -- should be incorporated as part of the city.

Noaki Schwartz SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Newport Beach's proposed annexation hasn't even gained momentum yet and already some Santa Ana Heights residents are suspicious of the city's motivations behind the move. "Why after having thumbed your nose at us on several occasions -- indicating that we didn't meet your qualifications and standards as a community -- why now do you want to annex us?" said Roger Summers, chairman of the Santa Ana Heights Specific Plan Advisory Committee, repeating some of the residents' comments at a recent meeting with Dave Kiff, Newport Beach deputy city manager.

SANTA ANA — Newport Beach will get bigger, and residents of West Santa Ana Heights will realize their dream of being inside city boundaries. The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to annex West Santa Ana Heights to Newport, something residents have pursued for years. The annexation likely will become official in July 2008, the beginning of the city's next fiscal year. Robert Hanley, who has been working for nine years to get his neighborhood annexed, was quietly pleased with the vote Wednesday and expects to show his jubilance later.

Former mayor elected LAFCO chair Arlene Schafer of Costa Mesa was elected the new chair for the Local Agency Formation Commission on Jan. 8. Schafer, a former Costa Mesa mayor and two-term appointee by former Gov. Pete Wilson to the Developmental Center Advisory Board of Directors, also serves as president of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Board of Directors, president of Independent Special Districts of Orange...